Masbate Gold Project logs 6-year safety record

OFFICIALS of Filiminera and Phil Gold celebrate a six-year safety record in the Masbate Gold Project. PHOTO FROM FILMINERA

MANILA, Philippines—A significant safety milestone was achieved through the joint effort of Filminera Resources Corporation (Filminera) and Phil. Gold Processing & Refining Corp. (Phil. Gold) in the Masbate Gold Project (MGP) in Aroroy town, Masbate province.

The companies’ contractors are also cited for the safety record.

The companies reached a remarkable six-year period without any untoward incident that lasted for 2,192 days and involving 38.6 million work hours as of November 17.

The companies involved in MGP have set records in safety separately

Phil. Gold, the gold processing and refining firm in the MGP, bagged the national silver awards in the 13th Gawad Kaligtasan at Kalusugan conferred by the Department of Labor and Employment Occupational Safety and Health Center.

Filminera, the mining company in the MGP, achieved the Platinum award category in the Philippine Mineral Industry Excellence Award in the recent Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference.

Phil. Gold is wholly owned by B2Gold Corp., a low-cost international senior gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. It has a 40 percent stake in Filminera.

The safety recoed was made possible by q commitment to a “zero harm” policy and safety systems at par with international standards.

“I believe we have developed a safety culture that have extended beyond the boundaries of the project site,” said Ryan Rusk, Phil Gold president, in a statement.

“Workers in the mine and the mill, including our contractors were able to embrace safety consciousness and awareness influencing their families and neighbors too,” Rusk said.

“The conscious effort to maintain our safety performance requires a commitment that transcends our individual job functions,” said Cris Acosta, Filminera president, in the same statement.

“It is a fragile achievement, one that we must celebrate with a promise to keep working on it,” Acosta said